South Shore bubbling over with craft beer brewers

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Oct 8, 2017 at 10:29 PMOct 10, 2017 at 11:17 AM

The explosion in breweries follows the passage in 2013 of the Farmers' Brewers Pouring Permit law, which allowed brewers to open up taprooms. A decade after the Massachusetts Brewers Guild formed in 2007, the 34 breweries open to the public has grown to 112.

Jody Feinberg The Patriot Ledger

At the opening of Widowmaker Brewing in Braintree last month, people lined up all day to get inside and taste a new craft beer. Soon, Untold Brewing will welcome beer drinkers to its first home in a renovated 1852 Scituate school house. And last summer, Barrel House Z celebrated its first anniversary in Weymouth.

The South Shore is experiencing a craft beer boom as local brewers open tap rooms where the beer and conversation flow freely. With communal tables and views into the brewing area, the vibe connects customers to each other and to the brewers.

“The market is becoming very very local,” said Russ Heisner, 54, owner of Barrel House Z, a pioneer brewer more than three decades ago at Harpoon Brewery in Boston. “It’s surging.”

The explosion in breweries follows the passage in 2013 of the Farmers’ Brewers Pouring Permit law, which allowed brewers to open up taprooms. A decade after the Massachusetts Brewers Guild formed in 2007, the 34 breweries open to the public has grown to 112.

“Tap rooms have become community centers for the 21-plus crowd,” said Katie Stinchon, executive director of the Massachusetts Beer Guild. “They’re connected to the neighborhood and give people a reason to stay and experience the beer.”

Depending on the brewery, there are food trucks outside, private rooms for parties, games, live music, even an art gallery and dog yappy hour. Customers can meet the brewers and watch beer produced just yards away from them.

“There’s a whole generation of young beer drinkers who grew up with nothing but craft beer,” said Heissner of Hingham, whose brewery also distributes to wholesalers. “They’re not brand loyal. They want to try new beers and want a local experience.”

Many of these spaces are designed to feel unique just as the beers are. At Barrel House Z, which specializes in barrel-aged beers, the interior walls, Adironack chairs and fencing are made of barrel stays. At Untold Brewing, the daily offerings are written on the original 19th century chalk board, and at Widowmaker Brewing, hops grow up the side of the building.

A new beer trail app created by the Massachusetts Brewers Guild now makes it easy to keep up with existing and new tap rooms. South of Boston other relatively new breweries include: Percival Brewing, owned by brewer Filipe Oliveira of Milton, which opened last weekend in Norwood and exhibits work by contemporary artists. Second Wind Brewery, a microbrewery in Plymouth, is expected to open this year. Old Colony Brewing opened in 2014 in Whitman, 10th District Brewing in 2015 in Abington, and Black Hat Brew Works in 2015 in Bridgewater.

Stinchon doesn’t worry about a craft beer bubble. Craft beer, domestic and imported, accounted for only 12.3 percent of all national beer sales in 2016, according to the Brewers Association.

“We don’t say there’s a restaurant or coffee shop bubble,” she said. “There’s enough variations that you can have more than one.”

Within the seemingly endless varieties and variations of beer, Barrel House Z has a specialty in barrel-aged beer. Untold Brewing has many hoppy, bold beers, inspired by ones the brewers made when they worked together in a Seattle brewery, and Widowmaker Brewing has many ales.

While these spaces often are quite large, their indoor capacity is relatively small, 50- 90 people and less for micro-breweries. In warm months, Untold Brewing and Barrel House Z have outdoor tables. Many people also visit for take-out, buying growlers, a container that is airtight to preserve the beer’s qualities.

The brewers said they welcome the competition.

“In Europe there are breweries in every town and I think that is what is happening in America,” said Ryan Lavery, 32, a long-time Weymouth home brewer who opened Widowmaker with partners Colin Foley and Bud Lazaro. “The better each brewery does, the better it is for everyone.”

Along with the quality of their beer, these venues draw customers because of what’s new.

“Anytime someone comes in there are going to be beers they expect, but there also will be beers for when customers say, ‘What do you have that I’ve never tried?’ said Lavery, once a drummer in a rock band. “It’s a lot like music. You always want to create something new. At the end of the day, it’s just beer, but I want it to be great.”

Like chefs who open their own restaurants, these owners are first and foremost beer brewers, who then learned to be entrepreneurs. And they often have deep roots in the communities where they operate.

“We all really love craft beer,” said Kristin Greene, who grew up in Scituate and is preparing with sibling and partner Matt Elder and partner Kyle Hansen to open Untold Brewing later this month. “And we love our town and want to be a place where the community gathers.”

The owners are proud that their brewery preserves a piece of town history because they renovated a neglected, 19th-century wooden school house.

“It was a leap of faith,” Hansen said. “The first time (the contractor) showed it to us, I thought, ‘Oh dear, how will this work? I can’t believe it’s the same building. To breathe new life into this building added another level of meaning to our endeavor.”

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.

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